21.   Bush and a U.S. letter outlining the deal stopped short of issuing the full apology sought by the Chinese.

22.   Bush sent China a letter outlining the deal stopped short of issuing a full apology or accepting blame for the collision.

23.   But he stopped short of a full apology.

24.   Bush sent China a letter outlining the deal stopped short of issuing a full apology or accepting blame for the collision, two points sought by the Chinese.

25.   But the man, Terence Lynch, said he would continue to demand a full apology from the judge.

26.   But officials stopped short of a full apology, and said the blame should be shared by the race organizers and the balloonists themselves.

27.   But they stopped short of a full apology and said the blame should be shared by the race organizers and the balloonists themselves.

28.   But Tokyo did not include a full written apology in a joint statement.

29.   China also repeated its demand for a full U.S. apology, which Washington has ruled out repeatedly.

30.   China reacted with a mixture of encouragement and toughness, a strategy designed to push the Americans towards a full apology and acceptance of wrongdoing.